Education Cess – where does it go?
Ever wonder what happens to the 2% education cess we pay on the central taxes?
A non-lapsable fund called the PrarambhikShikshaKosh (PSK) has been established for transferring /crediting into it, the proceeds of education cess. A provision of Rs. 8,746 crores for the initial transfer to the newly created PSK has been made in the Union Budget 2006-07 against estimated receipts of education cess.
The proceeds of Education Cess are utilized exclusively for the Sarva ShikshaAbhiyan (SSA) and Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDM) of the Government after exhausting the funds provided to these schemes by way of Gross Budgetary Support (GBS).
In the financial year 2006-07, the unaudited tentative figures of expenditure up to November 2006, recoupable from PSK was Rs. 3673 Crores.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development, M.A.AFatmi in the RajyaSabha yesterday.